Seven manufacturers share $1.92 billion fine for 10 years of CRT price fixing

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/seven-manufacturers-share-1-92-billion-fine-for-10-years-of-crt-price-fixing-2012126/

by ukdm • 14 years ago

100 35 14 years ago

geek.com

manaskarekar• 14 years ago

So do these price fixing fines get distributed among the consumers who paid this price?

jlarocco2• 14 years ago

No. It's too bad the link didn't go straight to the press release, because it answers that question and links to more information about seeking damages.

From http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1317_en.htm :

"Any person or firm affected by anti-competitive behaviour as described in this case may bring the matter before the courts of the Member States and seek damages. The case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Antitrust Regulation (Council Regulation 1/2003) both confirm that in cases before national courts, a Commission decision is binding proof that the behaviour took place and was illegal. Even though the Commission has fined the companies concerned, damages may be awarded without these being reduced on account of the Commission fine."

In other words, people can sue for damages and use this ruling as proof. That europa.eu pages has a little more information and some links.

easytiger2• 14 years ago

I do wonder what happens these fines.

The US govmt are pursuing lots of banks (suspiciously lots of foreign ones) and applying massive fines with little hope of recourse or application of due process. And It is not clear if this money goes anywhere at all.

mayneack2• 14 years ago

IF they go into the general treasury of the relevant states, then you could say that in the long term it goes "evenly" to the taxpayers of those states.

This of course assumes some relationship between the amount of money a country has and how much it decides to tax, which I think is far from given. But in some sense $ in from fines = $ of taxes they don't "need" in the future.

roryokane• 14 years ago

The original source explains why the meetings were called “green meetings” and quotes from uncovered documents about the price-fixing:

http://gigaom.com/europe/samsung-lg-and-others-hit-with-reco...

johnnymonster• 14 years ago

It seems as if the fines here are so minuscule to the profits that they probably got from the price fixing. I bet they could just put that number on the books similar to loss prevention and call it a day...

vertr• 14 years ago

What items are being price fixed these days?

wmf• 14 years ago

We'll find out in ten years.

InclinedPlane• 14 years ago

Movies, e-books, console video games, phone and internet services.

codewright• 14 years ago

LCDs

qeorge• 14 years ago

Data (wired and mobile) seems like the obvious one in the US at least.

ww5202• 14 years ago

Cell plans.

ww5202• 14 years ago

SMS, oh God, SMS.

rymngh• 14 years ago

scientific calculators

frozenport• 14 years ago

Food

benologist• 14 years ago

Rewording of http://gigaom.com/europe/samsung-lg-and-others-hit-with-reco... submitted by an undisclosed geek.com employee.

SoftwareMaven• 14 years ago

I find the whistle-blowing aspect interesting (Chunghwa didn't get penalized because they blew the whistle).

Did Chunghwa participate in the price fixing? Did they get the benefits, and then throw their competitors under the bus? It would be an interesting way to disadvantage your competition if so.

phogster• 14 years ago

Prisoner's Dilemma anyone?

oconnore2• 14 years ago

The Prisoner's Dilemma is different, since (here) there is no punishment if there is no betrayal, and betrayal is basically atomic.

pathy• 14 years ago

If memory serves, it is common that the whistle-blower gets a lower penalty/gets of entirely in antitrust cases, simply because if no one blows the whistle it is unlikely that there would be an investigation in the first place.

josephlord• 14 years ago

It should be a deterent to enter the illegal trust knowing that every member has an incentive to blow the whistle. That needs massive amounts of faith in competitors.

When I worked at Sony the only annual mandatory traing sessions were competition law training for everyone near marketing and the potential penalties were drummed in (upto 10% of global group turnover).

brador• 14 years ago

Is there any mathematical method for identifying price fixing?

Like the benford law for identifying bad accounting?

Someone2• 14 years ago

I guess you would look for correlation in price changes. Problem with that is that external factors (oil prices, failed harvests, earthquakes in Japan) can cause correlated price changes, too. Correlation of price changes between some major competitors while some other players do not follow suit might be an indicator, but those other competitors might just be in a slightly different situation (other manufacturing method or other company structure (e.g. if one of them owns a mine or has a long-term contract, price changes would affect them differently))

In the end, it is really hard to detect cartels. That, I think, is the reason the EU has the rule "the one who tells us walks free". Without it, companies taking part in cartels would have too little to fear.

guard-of-terra• 14 years ago

All the management involved has already got their fat bonuses to that point.

Seven manufacturers share $1.92 billion fine for 10 years of CRT price fixing

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